


Yearbook

by PaintedVanilla (orphan_account)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 19:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13014873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/PaintedVanilla
Summary: “What’s an anime club?”





	Yearbook

Dolley appears in the edge of James’ line of sight, but he’s focused intensely on digging through the box he’s had sitting in his closet since he moved into this apartment, so he only hums in acknowledgment. She stands behind him for a second, and right before he stops going through the box to ask what she needs, she asks, “What’s an anime club?”

James freezes, “What?”

“What’s an anime club?” Dolley asks again, earnestly, and James turns around to look up at her and finds that she’s holding his yearbook from senior year.

“Where did you find that?” he asks, not at all defensive, even though he was certain he’d shoved it away somewhere it would never be found. After Thomas lost his copy James had insisted that he’d lost his, too, if only because he didn’t want it ever unearthed that he was the technical cofounder of their high schools anime club, should he ever actually decide to run for president.

“It was inside a box of sheets wrapped up in one.” Dolley tells him, “were you hiding it?”

“Just from Thomas.” James says.

“Why? He went to school with you, he already knows this stuff.” Dolley points out.

“Yeah, but there’s no physical proof of it.” James says, “except in that book. And he lost his. And I’d rather have him try to blackmail me with a story I could easily say was made up than with an actual physical record of my youth.”

Dolley flips a page idly, “When does Thomas try to blackmail you?”

James picks himself up off the floor, “I don’t know.” he says, “can I have the book back? I need to burn it.”

Dolley flips back to a page she had bookmarked with her finger and turns the book towards him so he can see it, “Tell me what an anime club is.”

James blushes and averts his eyes from the picture, not wanting to look at it. It’s a photo of him and Thomas that takes up half the page, detailing them both as co-founders of the club. 

James reaches out and turns the book down, touching it like it’s going to burn him, “The world doesn’t need to see that.” he says, “and I don’t care what that book says, I wasn’t a co-founder. I never signed that paper, Thomas did. It was all his fault.”

Dolley has turned the book back up and is now looking at the page again, “It says you two were the clubs only regular members.”

“Yeah, well, everyone loves an excuse to get threatened to be beat up every week.” James says, “Can I please have the book? I don’t want it anymore.”

“I want it.” Dolley says, then she flips to a different page and turns the book back towards James and points at his school picture, “Look how cute you are.”

“I hate that picture.” James says, turning the book down again, “nobody needs this in the world, Dolley.”

“I’m sure your other classmates have copies, too, James.” Dolley points out.

“Yeah, and I’m sure when they go back to look at it they point me and Thomas out and tell everyone that we were gay.” James tells her.

“Did people think you were dating?” Dolley asks.

“My  _ family  _ thought we were dating. I didn’t have any other friends.”

“I thought you asked that girl to prom.”

“I did.” James pauses, “It’s not like she said yes, I wasn’t exactly very charming.”

“You look very nice.” Dolley says, flipping the book back over to look at his picture, “I would’ve gone to prom with you.” she looks back up at him, “tell me what an anime club is.”

James huffs, “Me and Thomas would just sit in the Spanish classroom for an hour after school and watch anime. Didn’t you have an anime club at your school?”

“Maybe.” Dolley says, flipping back to the page that talked about their club, “Does anime mean two things? I know it’s Japanese. My first boyfriend out of high school was obsessed with it, he used to make me watch them with him, but I remember them being cartoons.”

James almost flinches, but Dolley doesn’t notice, “That’s just it.” he says after a moment, “They’re just Japanese cartoons. But don’t tell Thomas I said that.”

“Why?” Dolley asks.

“Because he’ll get offended.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s weirdly defensive about anime, I don’t know.”

“Well, he did start a club.” Dolley says, then she shuts the yearbook and hands it to James, “you can burn it now, if you want.”

“Thank you.” James says, “and now when we go back to your apartment later to start packing your stuff we can look at your yearbook and I can make fun of something you did in high school.”

“I wasn’t making fun of you.” Dolley says lovingly, “and either way I don’t have a yearbook.”

“What?” James asks, “not even from your senior year?”

“Yearbooks were like seventy dollars. I remember being in high school, I don’t need to pay that much money to look at pictures of kids doing other stuff I couldn’t afford to do.” she pauses, “I might still have a school ID, though, if you want to see what I looked like with braces.”

**Author's Note:**

> if the last fic i ever get to post on ao3 thanks to whatever they decide to do about net neutrality is a fic about anime club i'm suing everyone who reads this


End file.
